A study declared that longevity gene which was earlier believed to add years to your life would now help keeping age-related cognitive decline at bay. Possibility of discovering new drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease has increased with this finding.

A variant of the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) gene, the longevity gene was discovered in 2003. This variant has improved cholesterol levels by increasing HDL which means improving the overall heart health.

For studies researchers put 523 people aged 70 and more with no signs of cognitive decline under test and analyzed their blood. It was done to find out which copy or copies of the CETP gene they carried. People in the study from 1994 to 2009 had standard neuropsychological and neurological testing. Tests to measure memory, attention span and time taken to react to a signal
(psychomotor speed) were also conducted.

About 40 new cases of dementia were noticed in this group during a follow up of 4.3 years. It was found out that people with a particular variation of the CETP gene had fewer chances of a decline in their memory and developing dementia.

Amy E. Sanders, MD, assistant professor in the Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine said, “We found that people with two copies of the longevity variant of CETP had slower memory decline and a lower risk for developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease.”

The recent development is that drugs are being developed that would mimic the effect shown by the variant.